April 30, 2008 |

-What a great start last night by Garrett Olson. His effort was only outdone by Dave Trembley’s managing performance. Last night was a prime example of why he was so successful in the minor leagues. He has an excellent feel for his pitcher and for the game. He managed Olson’s outing, letting him work but knowing EXACTLY when to reel him in. I thought it was a great move to try and let Olson get out of the seventh, but when he couldn’t get that last out it was an even better move to bring in a reliever. It was nice to see a spark in the Oriole bats as well.

-Manchester United secured a spot in Moscow for the UEFA cup finals. Christiano Ronaldo, despite his constant whining, is a force (news flash, right?). Every time he touched the ball near the box he had about three Barca defenders marking him up. He also was responsible for clearing two Barca corner kicks; an aspect of his game that gets frequently overlooked is his defensive capabilities. Barca continued to struggle to score, as they were blanked yet again. There was even a Thierry Henry sighting! Henry has been struggling all year to fit into this Barcelona scheme but it just hasn’t worked out. I also think Barca needed to make more of an effort to get the ball to Eto’o and let him create opportunities. Instead, Messi was getting most of the looks but could not create much. I think ManU will face Chelsea in Moscow…Liverpool vs. Chelsea (leg 2) is today.

-The San Antonio Spurs showed, once again, why they are the perennial favorites in the West. Do they have enough to beat the Lakers? I don’t know because both teams have looked so impressive. What a great potential Western Conference final match up…

-With Sid the Kid healthy, the Penguins are looking unstoppable. I’ve also been impressed with the play of the Philadelphia Flyers, who are taking it to the top seeded Canadiens and currently lead the series 2-1. The Canadiens are, surprisingly, continuing to struggle with their power play opportunities in the post season after finishing first in the league during the regular season. Montreal is also struggling between the pipes, as they are slated to change goalies tonight, swapping Jaroslav for Carey. That spells trouble for Montreal. The Penguins will take the series in five games.